Internal combustion engines with overhead cam shafts have become increasingly commonplace with the advent of smaller, more economical engines. Such engines normally include an elongated cam shaft rotatably journaled in each head. The shaft has a plurality of irregularly shaped cam lobes which engage and depress valve assemblies aligned therewith directly beneath the respective lobes. Should it be necessary to remove the cam shaft to repair it, the valve assemblies, or the cylinder head itself, it is necessary to simultaneously depress all of the valve assemblies in order to remove the cam shaft axially through its bearing areas.
Attempts have been made to facilitate such cam shaft removal by utilizing tools having pivotal rocker assemblies for depressing one or more of the valve assemblies. Problems have occurred with the prior known tools including the breakage of the attachment means for the tool to the cylinder head during normal useage as well as deformation of the pivotal support for the rocker members. Such breakage and deformation prevents efficient use of the tool and requires extensive repair or replacement of the tool.
After removal of the overhead cam shaft and the tappets or cam followers covering the valve assemblies beneath the cam shaft, disassembly of the remainder of the valve assembly requires compressing the valve spring and valve spring retainer. Such compression enables removal of the keepers for the retainer allowing removal of the various parts. In the past, separate tools apart from those which are required to remove the cam shaft were necessary to remove the keepers. Such removal was often difficult, tedious, and time consuming. The present invention has solved these problems by providing a method and separate tool used in conjunction with the improved cam shaft removal tool allowing simple and convenient removal and insertion of the keepers and disassembly and assembly of the valve trains.